Jonathan's POV
"Jonathan, are we still going by the Quarry today?", Will asks me from outside. We sit on the swing out front, enjoying the peace of Dad being gone. He actually went to work today.
"We can if you want. I'd like to get those shots anyway.", Mom says we can head out anytime we want as long as we're back by dinner, and we play it safe. I go get my camera, and Will grabs his jacket. We walk towards the Quarry, not that it's too much of a far walk.
"Do you ever get annoyed with me being around you so much?"
"No, you're my best friend.", I answer, and he smiles. "How's school been?", he shrugs. "What's that suppose to mean?"
"People just suck sometimes."
"Is someone messing with you?", he doesn't answer. "Will."
"Just people making comments about me and the others… it sucks."
"Some people you meet in life are just cruel, bud. You can't listen to what negative things people have to say about you, though. You're a great kid, Will, with an amazing future, brighter than anyone's. You can't let them get you down."
"You have to say that."
"Say what?"
"That I'm a good kid and stuff. You're my older brother."
"As your older brother, I have to tell you the truth. And I know you better than anyone else."
"That's fair.", he smiles, and I ruffle his hair. We arrive at the Quarry, and I get the camera out.
"Alright, stay back. This edge is really dangerous.", I don't go all the way out towards it, just enough to get the entire view. Will watches from a safe distance. I take a few shots, then back up myself, and take another shot. I continue this for a couple minutes, before I look over at Will, who's examining the surroundings careful, memorizing every detail. After a moment or so of this, he stops, and just sits down. I have the shots I need.
"How we head back and work on some of your drawings?", he smiles, and nods.
We walk towards the house, and Will has a smile on his face the entire time. I smile to myself, realizing no matter what happened, no matter who tried to bring me down, I always had someone on my side. Someone who thought everything in the world would be okay, even when I didn't, and believed in me to the fullest extent. I could have everyone else in the world hate me, and Will would find one reason to stand up for me, even if there was a thousand reasons to leave. Everything is going to be okay one day, because I have to make things better for him and Mom, they both deserve nothing less.
We arrive back at the house. We sit at the kitchen table, and he draws Will the Wise battling a monster. He's told me the name of it a thousand times, but I just can't remember it no matter how hard I try.
I hear a car door slam and Will and I look at each other, knowingly.
"Go in your room. Lock the door."
"I'm not leaving you to deal with this alone."
"Will, please.", too late. Dad busts the door open, and I grab Will. He comes in the kitchen, barely able to stand, and glares at both of us.
"Well, if it isn't the two fags.", he snaps, bitterly. I roll my eyes. "I got fired today.", he swerves, hitting the counter. I get Will behind me. "We're going to Indianapolis."
"Why?"
"I can get a good job, and they won't be able to find my records from here.", he answers, and gets in my face. His breath reeks with whiskey, and Will clings to my leg. "Besides, I can have someone keep a better eye on you two."
"Dad, you're drunk. Go to bed.", I tell him, calmly. His face disfigures with anger, and he punches me in the stomach. He punches me in the face, full force, and I hit the ground. Will screams at the top of his lungs, and Dad kicks me in the ribs.
"This is all your fault. You two. Worthless, useless, no good, sons of bitches.", he growls, and kicks me again, and I fall to my side, for a moment unable to move, and a moment is all my dad needs. He goes to do worse, but Will hits him with his backpack.
"Get away from my brother.", Dad spins around, and hits Will as hard as he could, and I hear him cry softly. Everything goes into slow motion, from the hit, to Will hitting the ground, and the tears run down his face, and he holds his cheek in pain. Anger consumes me and I've never felt more hatred for anyone than I felt for Lonnie at that moment. He stopped being my father at that moment.
"You son of a bitch.", I growl, and force myself up, and for the first time ever, hit Lonnie. He stumbles back, surprised. He tackles me, slamming me into the wall, and I fall back. When Will tries to protect me, Lonnie pushes him away and continues to beat the hell out of me. I try to move, but my body is locked up. Will continues to yell, begging Lonnie to leave me alone.
"Lonnie, what the hell!? Get off of him!", I hear Mom scream. "Get off of my boy!", he stops, and Will runs to me, tears pouring down his face, and I feel tears in my eyes, from pain and exhaustion. I choke on a sob. "What the fuck is wrong with you!?"
"Your boy had the nerve to hit me."
"Mom, Jonathan only hit him after he hit me, and I only hit him because he attacked Jonathan.", Will explains, using his jacket to stop the bleeding against my head. He wipes a few tears away and I try to stand.
"Lonnie, you have 5 minutes to get the fuck out of my house and never show up here again.", Lonnie doesn't move. "Get out of my house!", he gets in her face.
"Your house? How are you going to pay the bills without me?"
"I'll figure it out. Go to fucking hell, you piece of shit father.", she replies, and he raises his fist like he's going to hit her, and I feel adrenaline pump through my veins and I hit Lonnie in the back of the head. Once I get a good punch in, I don't stop. I punch him again, and again. We end up out in the front yard somehow and the fight continues. I grab him by the shoulders, despite the fact my mind is blurry and everything hurts, and shove him against his car.
"Leave, leave and never come back you piece of shit."
"Now you have the nerve to stand up to me?"
"I'm not going to let you hurt them. Ever.", he rolls his eyes at my comment, but gets in his car, and drives away. Mom runs to my side, and I nearly fall.
"Jonathan, sweetheart, we have to get you to the hospital."
"No… no hospital.", I argue, and Will grabs the first aid kit. Mom guides me inside and lays me on the couch, and starts to clean my wounds. "Will, come here.", he does so, and I look at the side of his face, where Lonnie hit him. He has a bruise forming. "That son of a bitch."
"I'm okay, Jonathan.", he assures me, and holds my hand as Mom continues to stop the bleeding from a cut on the side of my face.
"I'm so sorry, baby. I'm never going to let anything touch you again. I swear, nothing is going to hurt you boys ever again.", she has tears pouring down her tired face, but she doesn't wipe them away, because she's trying to handle giving me first aid.
"It's alright, Mom, I should have told you."
"How long has this been going on?", she asks me, desperately. She finishes bandaging the last cut, and Will goes to get me an ice pack. I raise myself up.
"Awhile… I just… knew we needed the income and he wasn't hurting you or Will, so I just dealt with it. I wasn't going to after today either way, though.", I feel two tears fall from my eyes to the floor. "He hit Will during the fight… that's why I hit him.", she grabs a hold of me, and hugs me, protectively and tightly. For the first time ever, I allow myself to feel vulnerable. It's Mom. It's alright. Will comes back with the ice pack and I pull him in, holding Mom with one arm and him with the other. He hugs me back, and we all just stay like this for a moment.
"He's gone. He's never coming back. We'll get by.", Mom tells us, and I nod. I start to cry, without realizing it, and once we release one another, we each have to wipe away our tears. "I promise, nothing is going to get you two again.", Will gets up, and goes into his room. Mom looks at me. "Try to relax, go listen to your music or something. I have to make a few calls so we can make sure he doesn't hurt us anymore.", I nod, and she hugs me again. "Baby, please start talking to me. You're not alone in this world."
"I know, Mom."
"It's my job to protect you, not the other way around.", deep down I know that, but I just can't help it. I nod again, and then she goes towards the phone, and I go into my room to rest for a few minutes. I lay flat on my bed and fall asleep almost immediately. When I wake up, my head is still pounding, but I feel somewhat better, and Mom is still on the phone with someone, looking stressed out. I decide to leave her be, and go check on Will. I don't knock, I open the door, and see Will curled up on his bed, tears pouring down his face, but he's awake. A crumbled piece of paper is beside him.
"Hey, buddy.", I kneel down on his bedside, and he looks at me, and wipes away a few tears.
"Hey, Jonathan.", I pull him into a strong hug, and he curls into me. I use one hand to grab the paper, while holding Will and playing with his hair slightly to calm him down. I examine the drawing. A fort, labeled Castle Byers, written under it, All friends welcomed. I immediately get an idea.
"Hey, how about we build this?"
"Really?"
"Yeah, I think we need something to get our minds off everything. This seems like a really good idea.", he lets go of me for a second, to look at me, as if trying to see if I'm for real. He smiles widely, and I go to get the tools. A place where all friends are welcomed, somewhere he can escape. Maybe this is exactly what my little brother needs.
